10 bosses we still feel guilty about killing

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We don’t usually feel bad for beating and overcoming video game bosses, especially when they pose a huge threat to our adventure. However, there have been cases where certain video game villains have left us to ponder who the real monster is. In fact, some games are so effective at toying with our emotions that we end up growing attached to them, to the point that we feel guilty for beating our virtual foes. Join us as we take a look at 10 video game bosses that still fill us with remorse to this day. Please be aware there will be major spoilers for each of the games discussed below.Read Full Article >>

Published by James Busby

1 Comment

I have to say that I actually thought Jason was a more interesting character than Vaas. The latter was more flashy, but the former actually went through a character arc, and that is what I feel is the game’s main selling point. I didn’t feel guilty about killing Vaas because he had broken the game’s rules several times to ambush Jason already, coming across as more annoying than funny, and dealing with him involved a frustrating series of quick-time events that replaced any guilt I may have felt (which was practically nonexistent to begin with) with even more annoyance.

The game made the decision to kill Marlene for us, which made her death feel kind of cheap (like a lot of things in that game). If it was interactive at all, they may have had something, but as it stands, that whole sequence was kind of a wasted opportunity to really bring the moral ambiguity home. I feel it’s less controversial because it was a well-executed talking point and more because the scenario was poorly conceived.

That said, the Boss absolutely deserves to be on this list. I usually hate it whenever a game forces you to do something and makes you feel guilty about doing it by acting as though you had a choice in the matter (i.e. many things in The Last of Us), yet for some reason, this game did it well. Then again, that’s one thing I’ve really noticed about the series, it’s that it managed to get away with a lot of things I would usually find annoying. Throughout the games, they made ideas work that by all logical standpoints, shouldn’t work at all (i.e. belittling the player in MGS2, the Boss’s death in MGS3, the long cutscenes in MGS4). Then again, it’s also possible that because they were implementing these ideas before they became trendy, it was easier to appreciate how innovate they were. I think the problem is that newer companies only ever noticed *that* these ideas work without ever questioning *why* they worked. As they inadvertently proved, I think many of them were one-time-only deals.

Sif, Asriel, and The Colossi were also great choices (though technically, you win the fight against Asriel without attacking him). If it’s one thing I’ve noticed about Shadow of the Colossus, it’s that, much like Ico, it manages to be a better game than a majority of the ones it doubtlessly inspired. Contrary to its name, I actually think minimalism is more difficult to pull off than a conventional approach.